It felt so good to be close to the witch!

The tiny ripples spread out, forming a map resembling a vast starry sky.

As time passed, two white dots of light appeared on the star map.

One of the white dots remained stationary, representing Fuma's location, while the other white dot moved southward at a uniform speed.

"found it!"

Fuma opened her eyes, her gaze sparkling: "About 600 kilometers south of here, we have crossed the Great Plains and entered the territory of the Kolei Empire."

"Take this with you; it will help you pinpoint the approximate location."

Fuma took a deep breath, her magical radiance gathering in her hand, condensing the star map into the size of her palm, and handed it to Roy.

Roy took the star map and nodded vigorously: "Well then, I'll take my leave now."

As Roy turned around, the border duke's voice came from behind: "Be careful in everything, but if anything really happens, don't be afraid. I'll always be behind you."

"And this too. This is a rough map of the Kolei Empire; it should be helpful to you."

Roy paused slightly, took the map from her, and waved her hand, saying, "Understood."

Watching the two figures gradually disappear into the distance, the border duke sighed slightly, then his eyes sharpened: "Pass on my order: the First, Third, and Fifth Knight Orders shall assemble and launch an attack on the Kolei Empire's outpost."

His voice reached the ears of the messenger knights guarding the gate in the distance.

The knight straightened his chest, bowed, and said, "Yes!" before striding away.

Fuma stood in the hall, her fists clenched.

She really wanted to go and help, but reason told her that with her current abilities, going would only be a hindrance.

"I thought that after becoming a legend, I could fight alongside you, but I never imagined that the distance between us would only grow further and further..."

"I need to work harder!"

The girl secretly made a vow in her heart.

……

Guided by the star map, Roy and Latie headed south.

To avoid the troops stationed on the border of the Kolei Empire, he deliberately took a detour, bypassing the area—he was not familiar with magical machinery and could not be sure whether they had developed instruments similar to radar or infrared detection. With time pressing, it would be unwise to rashly fly over them.

Taking a detour may waste some time, but it's safer.

Guided by the star map, the two quickly crossed the vast plains bordering Radiance and Corei, officially entering the territory of the Corei Empire.

After traveling for a short while, scattered towns came into Roy's view.

Contrary to the imagined cold and imposing concrete buildings, these villages on the outskirts of the Kolei Empire are essentially no different from those in the Radiant Empire, featuring the same thatched-roof wooden structures.

But the difference is that the farmers working in the fields are full of energy and physically strong, operating machines similar to small seeders, which greatly improves their work efficiency.

"Have magical machinery already benefited the lower classes...?"

Roy felt a chill run down his spine.

Although it only involves a small portion of magical mechanical applications, the power of the Kolei Empire is not yet strong enough for even farmers to have enough to eat and wear, but compared to the vast majority of farmers in the Radiant Empire, it is already far better off.

A glimpse into the bigger picture reveals that the growing power of the Kolei Empire and the declining Radiant Empire, ruled by a corrupt aristocracy, are increasingly diverging in strength day by day.

Although the number of demigods in the Colei Empire is currently less than that of the Radiant Empire in terms of top-tier combat power, Roy is well aware that the Border Duke's concerns were not unfounded if the path of magical machinery continued to develop. The Colei Empire could indeed develop an ultimate weapon capable of killing gods in the current world situation.

At that time, the radiance that once enveloped the continent of the Glorious Empire will completely dissipate.

Roy shook his head and stopped paying attention to these things.

While the path of magical mechanics holds great promise, it currently cannot reach the realm of the gods. For Roy, the most important thing right now is to rescue Tonnie.

Roy lowered his head and looked at the star map in his palm.

He was currently 600 kilometers away from the solid rock wall, but even when the distance between him and Tonnie's location was magnified proportionally, it was still more than 1000 kilometers.

That location was already in the heart of the Kolei Empire, within the territory of the imperial capital, Erikd, which was known as the "Mechanical Holy City".

They have brought Tonigne to the capital of the Colle Empire.

Roy felt heavy-hearted.

As the core of magical machinery, the capital of the Kolei Empire, Erikd, naturally possesses the highest level of magical machinery defense.

The chances of breaking into this place undetected are virtually zero.

Fortunately, according to intelligence, the strongest demigod of the Kolei Empire, the chairman of the Round Table Conference, is currently confronting the border duke at the border. The mechanical holy city of Erikdne has at most two relatively weak demigods.

Therefore, the probability of successfully forcing one's way in is not zero.

They proceeded cautiously, knowing that Roy and Latie's strength was beyond the reach of anyone below the legendary limit. Thus, the two arrived smoothly not far from the mechanical holy city of Erikd.

And here, the straight-line distance to Tonigne is less than twenty kilometers.

Gazing at the majestic mechanical city in the distance, Roy took a deep breath, exchanged a glance with Latie, and aimed at Tonnie's location, intending to try to infiltrate. If infiltration failed, they would simply force their way in.

However, just as he was about to take action, his expression suddenly changed, and he stopped in his tracks.

Latie looked at Roy with some confusion.

Roy waved his hand gently, making a "shh" gesture.

He lowered his head and carefully took out a small, dark blue doll. Looking at the petite figure sitting in his palm, her eyes shining brightly and no longer dull as before, he could no longer suppress the joy in his eyes.

"Se-Sehir, is that you?" Roy asked cautiously.

Just now, he heard a faint, familiar voice calling his name.

"It's me."

A clear, slightly amused voice came from the small, dark blue doll: "Long time no see, Roy."

-

(Waaaaah, dear readers, please vote for me! I'm only a little over a hundred votes away from reaching a thousand, please, please~)

Chapter 218 Please take good care of me in the days to come!

"Long time no see, Roy."

When that familiar yet distant voice reached his ears, Roy's eyes unconsciously welled up with tears.

Sesil's slumber wasn't long, less than two months in total, but to Roy, it felt like an eternity...

Since the Xinghu incident, he has experienced a lot and met many new people and new partners.

No matter what he went through, the dark blue girl under the moonlight, who whispered, "I want to experience the life you have experienced," was an unforgettable and indelible rainbow in his life.

Roy kept waiting, waiting...

Even though his current combat power is close to the pinnacle of this world, he still cannot play any role in the battle for the soul of Cecil.

He originally thought that this wait would continue for a long time.

Unexpectedly, less than two months later, Cecil woke up on his own.

Excitement, joy, happiness...

A surge of emotions welled up within him, causing Roy to stammer, "Is it really you, Cecil?"

He worried that everything happening before his eyes was just a beautiful dream, and that when he woke up, the little figure in his palm would still have a dull and lifeless gaze.

"It's me." A clear, slightly amused voice confirmed Roy's words, and the petite, anthropomorphic doll stretched lazily: "Thank you for your hard work these past few days."

"It's been a long time since I fell into slumber, hasn't it? The little guy who was just a Silver rank back then is now a Legendary Three-Star."

"Time flies..."

"Uh." Hearing Cecil's words, Roy awkwardly stroked his chin: "Actually, less than two months have passed since you fell into a deep sleep..."

Upon hearing this, the petite, dark blue doll, who was comfortably stretching, froze, her bright, watery eyes showing obvious surprise.

"Less than two months? You've gone from Silver to Legendary Three-Star?!"

Sesil was a little confused.

She stretched out her rough, doll-like hands and patted her cheeks to make sure she wasn't dreaming. Then, she stared at Roy with the look one would give a "strange creature." A few seconds later, just as Roy was feeling a little embarrassed by her gaze, Cecil chuckled:

"Never mind, I knew from the beginning that you were 'different'. I'm a little surprised now, but how should I put it... it's not unexpected."

"You are Senior Sehir?!" At this moment, Latie, who had been stunned since the beginning, said in surprise.

“Oh?” Sehir, sitting in Roy’s palm, turned her head to look at this “unfamiliar” junior witch and said in a calm tone, “You have a familiar feeling about you, but I have never seen you before. So, what is your identity and name?”

When faced with anyone other than Roy, Cecilia's attitude immediately turned cold. If it weren't for the familiar aura emanating from them, she wouldn't have bothered with them at all.

Upon hearing this, Latie straightened her delicate body and said solemnly, "Lady Cecil, I am the current vice president of the Witch Guild and also a disciple of Teacher Finage, Latie Gaitner."

“Finegi…” Upon hearing this familiar yet distant name, Cecilia’s eyes glazed over for a moment. She gently shook her head: “Senior sister, is she alright now?”

"Teacher is very good. After you disappeared for a long time, you became the new president of the Witch Guild, leading the witches to try to survive the temple's hunt." Latie nodded vigorously: "And now, with Roy's help, Teacher Finage, who has been cleansed of the pollution, has become even stronger and now has the strength to surpass that of an ordinary demigod."

“A demigod…” Cecil sighed softly, “Time truly is the greatest miracle.”

"But, it's good that you're alive, it's good that you're alive..."

“By the way, Cecil,” Roy interjected, “why haven’t you changed back yet?”

Although small dolls are cute, they are far inferior to human figures.

Upon hearing this, Cecil rolled his eyes at Roy: "If it were up to me, would you think I'd want to stay inside this doll?"

"Although I have awakened, it is not because I have won the battle of consciousness and soul, but because 'she' has chosen to remain silent for some reason, and has given me control of the body."

"The battles during this period have also caused fundamental damage to my soul, which can only be healed naturally over time. Therefore, during the recovery period, I still need this puppet body to temporarily serve as my vessel."

"By the way, has anything unusual happened recently?"

“Is that so…” Roy pondered, “If we’re talking about special things, well, it seems like nothing I’ve experienced has been anything but special, right?”

“…It seems you’ve had quite a lot of experiences lately.” Cecil was somewhat speechless: “Never mind, let’s not dwell on this.”

"Now that I'm awake, Roy, I hope you'll take good care of me from now on. You wouldn't want to send me away, would you?"

“How could that be!” Roy retorted immediately, then said with an extremely serious expression, “Welcome to wake up, Cecil. Please take care of me in the days to come.”

Their eyes met, and they smiled at each other.

Dark blue magic lifted Cecil's doll-like body, causing it to land on Roy's shoulder.